immature rufous-morph, dark-morph red-tailed hawk

American kestrel

accipiter

black-crowned night herons

RAPTOR SURVEY

On Saturday, December 17, Liam and I completed our first Raptor Survey for Butte County (south). This route begins inside Graylodge NWR and terminates at the Oroville forebay, it took 6 hours to complete. The number and variety of red-tailed hawks was overwhelming. Along Pennington Road we encountered as may as twelve at a time, making driving and tallying a fun challenge (we just left our flashers on the entire day)! Light morph red-tails well out-numbered all other plumages, making the rufous and dark morphs that much more spectacular (photos above ). Red-Tailed hawks accounted for 171 of the 307 raptors surveyed. The ubiquitous turkey vulture seemed to be with us constantly; above the skyline or tilting overhead throughout the whole day, 45 of these were tallied. Northern harriers were likewise a fixture on the horizon, 38 were observed along the route with females making up the greater number. American kestrels ornamented the roadside wires (25) and one of the highlights of the day was watching a pair of males grapple in mid-air, fall to the ground with talons locked and wrestle on the black-top for seconds before a victor was determined – both flew off seemingly unharmed. White-tailed kites were relatively easy to spot at a distance and 14 of them were seen either perched at the tops of small trees, or ‘kiting’ above wheat or rice-fields. A few of the 7 red-shouldered hawks observed sported stunning pink/orange breasts, while the mottled juveniles normally took us a few moments longer to classify. Our ‘highlights’ for the day were: an immature bald eagle on a snag over a pond on Afton Road, 2 rough-legged hawks – one in a conifer behind a residence on Pennington Road (second time seen there) and another on a small tree on Afton Road, A lone ferruginous hawk standing out bright white against a burned field on Wilbur Road near the Thermalito Afterbay, and 3 ‘accipiter species’ believed to be 2 Cooper’s and a sharp-shinned (photo above ). Our most unusual sighting for the day were 35 black-crowned night herons in a single tree over a small pond on Afton Road. Bird well. Scott Huber Chico

SANDHILL CRANES

BIRDING THE PERIPHERY OF MandT RANCH...

I did a little reconnaissance around the proposed M and T gravel operation this morning in preparation for Altacals January 5 trip, and found it to be rich in native bird species.

My first stop was along Chico River Road where the road crosses Little Chico Creek (no surface water at this point) where I found black phoebe, house finch, red-winged blackbird, Nuttall’s woodpecker, American Goldfinch, Bewick’s wren, scrub jay, golden-crowned sparrow, lesser goldfinch, American crow, northern flicker, white-breasted nuthatch, turkey vulture, spotted towhee, song sparrow, fox sparrow, California quail and Ruby-crowned kinglet. This location is just ‘up-stream’ from where the gravel mining would take place.

Another stop a quarter mile further south yielded many white-crowned sparrow and fly-overs by a flock of sandhill crane which subsequently landed on the subject property.

After turning east on Ord Ferry road; house sparrow, western meadowlark and mourning dove graced the roadside. Where this road re-crossed Little Chico Creek (down-stream from the proposed mining) I found: oak titmouse, European starling, a lone Lincoln’s sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler, a small flock of wood-ducks on the irrigation canal, a solo long-billed curlew flying over and hundreds of sandhill cranes on the newly planted fields of Llano Seco on the south side of the road.

The existing level of vehicle and large truck traffic on this country road make it uncomfortable for birding, if not for the birds. A road-killed deer and gray squirrel suggest the possibility of greater traffic related wildlife mortality if road usage increases.

Scott Huber
December 13, 2007

passerella iliaca (sooty)

FOX SPARROW (sooty) December 12, 2007

Again today the phainopeplas called from the miseltoe clusters in which they fed. On the ground, this fox sparrow scratched a hole in the damp ground beneath the leaves, seemingly oblivious to my presence just 10 feet away

PHAINOPEPLA PAIR IN BUTTE CREEK CANYON

This afternoon December 10, on Hooper Lane in Butte Creek Canyon I became aware of a ringing, single note whistle from the top of a tree and a similar "fooeet" reply from another tree. Directly over my head a male phainopepla chased an insect in a circle, showing off it's striking white wing patches, then perched on a bare branch, providing me extended looks at it's intense red-eye and trade-mark 'hair-doo'!

SNOW BUNTING PERSISTS FRIDAY DEC. 7

After a week the Glenn County snow bunting continues to call the little private airstrip on Road 39 it's home. Again the bird was found in the company of horned larks. A couple of drenching rains over the course of the week didn't dampen the little birds fidelity to this sterile patch of ground...perhaps it looks like the glacial moraines and barren fields of it's breeding grounds. Vehicles pass by every few minutes and about half the time the bird crouchs as they pass and the rest of the time it rises about 40 feet in the air, flies in a big 100 yard circle and then drops like a rock right back to it's gravelly home-away-from home! Both Liam and Alita were able to get views of the bird and take some pictures (Alita's pictures above). One other vehicle of birders was there as we were leaving at about 4:40 p.m.

TEICHERT POND, DECEMBER 7, 2007

It was a beautiful morning after a rain at Teichert Pond in residential Chico.

Many vocalizing birds were seen including: Oak titmouse, yellow-rumped warbler, european starling, ruby-crowned kinglet, spotted towhee, Nuttall's woodpecker, Acorn woodpecker, American robin, belted kingfisher, red-shouldered hawk (see photo), Bewick's wren, Song sparrow, hermit thrush, dark-eyed junco, house finch, Canada goose, Anna's hummingbird, American goldfinch, bushtit, cedar waxwing, black phoebe, California quail and white-breasted nuthatch.

Seen but not heard were: northern flicker, American crow, turkey vulture and mallard.

Nice surprises were a singing female purple finch and my first orange-crowned warbler in months!

ARIZONA SIGHTINGS

RUFOUS BACKED ROBIN: Proctor Trail Loop, Madera Canyon, Arizona, November 30, 2007

ELEGANT TROGON: Patagonia Lake, December 2, 2007

SNOW BUNTING 12/3/2007 GLENN COUNTY, CA